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Your Environment. Your Health.

Systems Biology Group

Transcriptional & Epigenetic Control of Cell Fate Decisions

Raja Jothi, Ph.D.
Raja Jothi, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Tel 984-287-3696
jothi@niehs.nih.gov
Curriculum Vitae Raja Jothi (454KB)
NIH Intramural Profile Raja Jothi
P.O. Box 12233
Mail Drop A3-03
Durham, N.C. 27709

Research Summary

Raja Jothi, Ph.D., heads the Systems Biology Group within the Epigenetics and Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, and holds a secondary appointment in the NIEHS Biostatistics and Computational Biology Branch.

Understanding how environmental cues affect cell physiology to give rise to specific phenotypic outcomes is a fundamental step toward understanding disease mechanisms. During development and in response to environmental insults, various signaling cascades culminate in the activation of appropriate master transcription factors (TFs) and chromatin remodeling enzymes to establish gene expression programs controlling cell fate decisions. Elucidation of gene networks (Figure 1) associated with specific biological phenotypes thus becomes key to understanding the molecular basis of development and pathogenesis.

gene networks
Figure 1. Reconstruction of gene networks controlling cellular response or fate.

The Jothi group is interested in understanding how transcription regulators and epigenetic modifications regulate gene expression programs during cellular development and differentiation, and apply this knowledge to aid in the development of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for cancer and other diseases. At the macro-level, the group uses data science and data-driven approaches―merging computational biology, functional genomics, and molecular biology―to reconstruct and characterize environmentally- and developmentally-responsive gene networks that underlie cell identity and response. At the micro-level, they study transcriptional and epigenetic control of cell fate decisions during development and tumorigenesis.

The group primarily uses mouse embryonic stem cell (ESC) and its differentiated derivatives as the model system of choice to understand how signaling dynamics instruct epigenetic and/or transcriptional programs controlling cell fate decisions during development and pathogenesis. ESCs, derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, are an ideal model system for understanding gene networks controlling cell identities. Their ability to self-renew indefinitely and differentiate into all derivatives of the three germ layers makes them an attractive model for drug and toxicity testing, exposure studies, disease modeling, and regenerative medicine. Importantly, differentiated derivatives of human pluripotent cells could serve as excellent models for understanding disease mechanisms, particularly when there is no good animal model for the disease being studied. Successful development of stem cell-based therapies not only depends on our understanding of the genes and pathways that constitute the genetic network governing stem cell homeostasis, but also the mechanisms that maintain the intricate homeostatic balance between self-renewal and differentiation. Over the years, the group has successfully uncovered and characterized many genes and mechanisms with previously unknown roles in cell fate decisions during development and tumorigenesis.

Major areas of research:

  • Chromatin, epigenetics and gene regulatory networks
  • Cell fate decisions during development and tumorigenesis
  • Methods development for integration and analysis of Big Data

Current projects:

  • Reconstruction and characterization of gene networks regulating stem cell identity
  • Investigation into how signaling cascades instruct epigenetic or transcriptional programs controlling cell fate
  • Intragenic enhancers and transcription regulation

Jothi received his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science & Engineering from the University of Madras in 1998, and his Ph.D. in Computer Science & Discrete Mathematics from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2004. Following postdoctoral training in Computational Biology and Epigenetics at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI, NIH) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI, NIH), respectively, he was recruited to NIEHS in 2009 and promoted to Senior Investigator with tenure in 2015. Dr. Jothi was the recipient of the NIEHS Early Career “Rising Star” Award in 2009 and the NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein Mentoring Award in 2016.

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